Massacre at Port Arthur, Australia - Encircle Photos

8 Massacre at Port Arthur, Australia

Something in the human psyche draws us to historic sites with a macabre past, especially when they are in partial ruins. We never expect something tragic to occur while exploring places like The Asylum and Separate Prison shown here. But in April of 1996, Port Arthur was the scene of Australia’s worst mass shooting when 28 year-old Martin Brant open fired with a semi-automatic rifle. By the end of the melee at the former penal colony, 33 people were dead and 19 were injured at the café, gift shop, parking lot and access road. There were other victims before and after. This sparked a national outrage, leading to a legislative ban against automatic and semi-automatic rifles in Australia. By 1997, a buyback program collected 700,000 weapons. Around the Broad Arrow Café is the Memorial Garden to commemorate the event.

VIEW MAP

Massacre at Port Arthur, Australia

6973 Arthur Highway, Port Arthur, TAS 7182, Australia

Directions

Share this Photo